Following a flood at the Armenian Institute space in November 2014, our book and archive collections were sent for safe storage until such time that the Institute was able to move to new, more spacious, premises. The Tanielian benefaction and contributions by major donors turned that dream into reality. But for COVID-19 we would have been in our new premises this month organising events and house-warming Welcome Parties for April and beyond.
Before the flood, our ever-increasing collections occupied all 163 linear metres of shelving at the Kensington space. Now, thanks to a generous grant from the Armenian Communities Department of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, a brand-new mobile shelving system has been installed at our Saffron Hill premises – the day before the current lockdown came into effect.
The new system, together with the fixed bookcases, will provide 100 linear metres additional shelving space for our growing collection. We are very excited about this new facility and wanted to share the news with you by including images of our new mobile shelving. We cannot wait to see these units filled with books, once again available to researchers and the general public after a long period of dormancy.